October 31, 2010

What a way to get up in the morning...

The kind of candy I am hoping to get in my bag tonight....

Only in CA is this an issue. We brought you the original Prop 215 to allow medicinal marijuana. When I was in college, maybe you had pot brownies, where you would taste the actual pot, because it was not strained out, but now with technology, the ability to make candy is crazy.

October 22, 2010

Maybe this can be a ring that he actually helps to get…just kidding, you are a Laker, so I got your back…

This is a good sign for Laker fans. Ronin’s girl Khloe helped Lamar get another ring, so this has to be good right?

Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, 26, and tennis star Maria Sharapova, 23, are engaged to be married, the basketball player announced before Thursday night’s 120-99 preseason win over the Golden State Warriors.The proposal — which he characterized as “probably old-school” — came on the one-year anniversary of when they first met at a friend’s barbecue. “I had to do it like a gentleman,” Vujacic said.

“She was happy. The answer was yes, so I think she liked it,” said Vujacic, who the Riverside Press-Enterprise said was returning to the court after three games off due to a concussion.

The point guard made his announcement on a night when Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant were both absent — more spotlight for him and his bride.

Now, if we don’t repeat, I will be blaming YOU! (jk, jk…you should not be the reason we win or lose…) You clearly are the winner here Sasha…

October 22, 2010

I guess that you should not preach Juan...

Funny story but when I was in MN, I hung out with a dude named DD, my dude from way back. We were hosting a small soiree at our pad and we hang out with Juan Williams’ son. Needless to say, that dude liked to party, which made him aces in my book.

At our party, there were always all types at the party. We didn’t discriminate based on politics, only on your party quotient. If you brought something to the party, then we wanted you around. At our spots, politics were not really discussed, so your political identity normally got checked at the door, with the coats.

Looking at the Juan Williams situation, the terrorists have clearly won. The inability to express your beliefs is the hallmark of a totalitarian regime. If we can’t discuss our feelings, then covert racism will rule the day.

By Matea Gold

Tribune Washington Bureau

12:35 PM PDT, October 21, 2010

Reporting from Washington

As NPR weathered a storm of criticism Thursday for its decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams for his comments about Muslims, Fox News moved aggressively to turn the controversy to its advantage by signing Williams to an expanded role at the cable news network.

Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes handed Williams a new three-year contract Thursday morning, in a deal that amounts to nearly $2 million, a considerable bump up from his previous salary, the Tribune Washington Bureau has learned. The Fox News contributor will now appear exclusively and more frequently on the cable news network and have a regular column on FoxNews.com.

“Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997,” Ailes said in a statement, adding a jab at NPR: “He’s an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.”

The worst part about this is that it allows FOX to come off as the reasonable party here. For once, I have to agree with FOX here. While they are not really fair and balanced reporting in any sense of the phrase, the ability to paint a picture of intolerance to set up another, major point is necessary in discussion. His beliefs are ones that others share and he was talking about how to combat and recognize that subconscious discrimination.

Meanwhile, conservative leaders lambasted NPR for firing Williams and called for cutting public funding for the media organization. By midafternoon Thursday, more than 4,900 comments had been posted on NPR.org, including many from people who said the media organization was bowing to political correctness and unfairly punishing Williams for expressing his personal opinions.

“In one arrogant move the NPR exposed itself for the leftist thought police they really are,” read one typical post. “After this November elections I hope one of the first things the new Congress does is to defund this poor excuse for public radio.”

NPR serves a public good, a necessary purpose. I want them to re-examine their hiring practices, I want them to bow less to political correctness, but I want them on the radio. Just like NPR overreacted to this situation, the public needs to take a step back, take a deep breath and then keep it moving.

The controversy kicked off Monday night when Williams, a Fox News contributor, made an appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor.” In a conversation with host Bill O’Reilly about how fear of terrorism affects perceptions of Muslims, Williams noted that he harbored some anxieties, even as an author of books about the civil rights movement.

“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot….But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous,” Williams said.

He also noted that it was not fair to cast all Muslims as extremists.

On Wednesday, NPR told Williams it was terminating his contract, saying his remarks “were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”

The abrupt break came after years in which Williams’ role at Fox News caused internal tension at the public radio organization. Many NPR listeners registered complaints about comments he made on the cable news channel, particularly remarks last year in which he described First Lady Michelle Obama as having “this Stokely Carmichael in a designer dress thing going” and saying she could become “an albatross.”

In response, NPR executives asked Williams to request Fox News not identify him as an NPR analyst when he appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Dana Davis Rehm, NPR’s senior vice president for communications, said in an interview that Williams’ comments violated internal ethics policies that prohibit NPR journalists from going on other media and expressing “views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist.” The guidelines also prohibit NPR journalists from participating in programs “that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis.”

Isn’t it a fact that Juan felt that way? He is analyzing his personal beliefs and how that colors some of the things that he thinks about, and he even claims that approach is wrong. NPR is really asking him to lie about what he thinks. If it really is National Public Radio, then the some in the Public think the same things. Exposure can only help, since it leads to discussion that might help people to recognize the other side and have more tolerance.

Rehm said Williams had been warned several times in the past about making personal comments that violated the policy.

“This wasn’t the first time where we felt Juan crossed the line in terms of what’s permitted for NPR analysts and journalists as a whole,” she said. “We felt we really didn’t have an alternative. And it was not without regret, and it was not a decision that was made lightly by any means. We do appreciate the work he has done.”

Williams told Fox News on Thursday that he was let go over the phone and taken aback that he wasn’t given a chance to defend himself.

“It’s not a bigoted statement,” he told Fox News in an interview the cable news network ran throughout the day. “In fact, in the course of this conversation with Bill O’Reilly, I said we have an obligation as Americans to be careful to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in our country and to make sure that we don’t have any outbreak of bigotry. But that there’s a reality. You cannot ignore what happened on 9/11, and you cannot ignore the connection to Islamic radicalism, and you can’t ignore the fact of what has even recently been said in court with regard to this is the first drop of blood in a Muslim war in America.”

Fox News made the most of the incident, rerunning a package about the controversy throughout the day. Williams was scheduled to appear on “The O’Reilly Factor” Thursday night to further address the issue and will guest host the program Friday.

In the meantime, NPR was slammed by conservative leaders such as Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, who tweeted, “NPR defends 1st Amendment Right, but will fire u if u exercise it. Juan Williams: u got taste of Left’s hypocrisy, they screwed up firing you.”

NPR, if you really are defenders of the left, why would you give them this ammunition?

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who hosts a show on Fox News, said he now plans to boycott NPR and decline its interview requests.

“NPR has discredited itself as a forum for free speech and a protection of the First Amendment rights of all and has solidified itself as the purveyor of politically correct pabulum and protector of views that lean left,” Huckabee wrote on his blog, adding: “It is time for the taxpayers to start making cuts to federal spending, and I encourage the new Congress to start with NPR.”

NPR receives no direct federal funding for its operations, but between 1% and 3% of its $160-million budget comes from competitive grants awarded by publicly funded entities such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 2009, NPR has received $8 million in competitive grants from the CPB for technology development and journalism initiatives. It also received a one-time grant of $78 million between 2007 and 2009 to upgrade satellite technology.

Local NPR stations receive $90 million in annual appropriations from the CPB that amount to about 10% of their revenue, on average.

Rehm said it was inappropriate for politicians to interject the issue of federal funding into an editorial decision, adding that she hoped the controversy would not affect financial support for public radio. “Stations are in fund-raising season, so it is unfortunate that this occurred at this time,” she said.

Police said after the gruesome murder, Conley — 17 years old at the time — packed his brother’s body into the trunk of his car and drove to his girlfriend’s house to watch a movie.

This is the cold blooded part. He loaded the body in the truck like a sack of potatoes. Then, concerned with his own hedonistic needs, he makes the booty call to snuggle and get some action, while watching a movie. Now that you have plead guilty, the only snuggling you are going to do is when Bubba is braining your hair, getting you ready for the D@#* down you get in prison. You seem a little frail. I hope you are pumping iron.

The teen told police that he identified with Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall, in the Showtime television series about a police blood-spatter analyst who is also a serial killer.

“I felt like I had to,” said Conley, who lives in the small town of Rising Sun.

According to ABC, he compared the urge to kill with a hungry person craving a hamburger, and said he fantasized about killing people since he was in the eighth grade.

This is a Hawkins burger. This is something to fantacize about. the killing? Not so much... Yes, that it Pastrami and a hot link on top as well...See, the things dreams are made of. Dream of killing this gigantic burger are normal and okay

How do you start having fantasies of death of others in the 8th grade? What were you watching as a kid?

Police said on the morning of Conner’s murder Conley told authorities that he also contemplated killing his sleeping father.

According to The Associated Press, prosecutors plan on seeking a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Conley cannot face the death penalty because he was under 18 when the crime was committed. Defense attorneys are supposed to argue that Conley was insane at the time of the murder.

This isn’t the first murder tied to “Dexter.” In 2008, a 29-year-old Canadian filmmaker, Mark Twitchell, was charged with murdering a man based on a storyline from the show.

Damn, son, get it together. What you see in the movies and TV does not have to be mimicked.

August 16, 2010

Bring the goggles and raincoats, its about to get REALLY REAL in here!

wait, isn’t that just called being a voyeur?

HONG KONG – On the leafy fringes of Hong Kong in a shabby film studio, a nude ponytailed actor stretched out on animal-skins with his lover as the cameras rolled in a set evoking a subterranean sex lair in ancient China.

No ordinary porn flick, “3-D Sex & Zen: Extreme Ecstasy” is being touted as the world’s first IMAX-3-D erotic film.

I am with Ronin…I am totally down on 3-D. Real life is 3-D. Spend time going to do what you want, instead of watching others…

Thats what I am afraid of....

Hong Kong director Christopher Sun is currently filming his $3.2 million ‘3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy’, which is due for release in May, but Italian director Tinto Brass has already announced he will produce a 3D remake of his 1979 erotic film Caligula.

Although mainland Chinese censors are almost certain to block the movie’s screening, it has sparked wide interest in other Asian markets, including Japan and South Korea, as well Europe, and the United States.

Producer Stephen Shiu said: “This is the future of the movie business — it’s human nature to want to see things in 3D.”

Adding to the pressure, the American company Hustler is making a pornographic spoof of 3D science fiction blockbuster Avatar, the highest-grossing movie of all time and the film that heralded the beginning of the mainstream 3D boom.

There is a lot of things that are happening in a porno flick that I don’t want to see, and definitely not in 3-D. I certainly don’t want to see any dudes in 3D, or the money shot.

August 10, 2010

fashion your seat belts, its going to be a bumpy ride.....to jail

Sometimes, you want to tell someone that they can take this job and shove it. But, before the words come out of your mouth, you realize the ramifications of taking that action. You curse them quietly and then keep it moving.

Meet Steven Slater. He should have been in Eminem’s video for Guilty Conscience

A JetBlue flight attendant got into an argument with a passenger on a jetliner arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport Monday, then grabbed a beer from the galley, deployed an emergency exit slide and fled the plane, authorities said.

And though he could be seen smiling as authorities led him away from his nearby home in the Belle Harbor section of Queens, Steven Slater’s acquaintances and his apparent profile on a social networking site indicated that he has been dealing with some stressful events in his life.

Now, this is the difference in reading the MSN story and reading the NY Daily News. Here is the first part of how they report their story.

A JetBlue flight attendant blew his top, grabbed some beer and bolted out an emergency slide at Kennedy Airport Monday – then headed home to have sex with his boyfriend.

Now, why that information is necessary, I am not sure, but it does get you thinking about their readership and how they are doing. MSN continues…

Slater was awaiting arraignment Tuesday in the New York City borough of Queens on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. He remained in custody overnight.

By Monday night, several Facebook pages had been set up in tribute to Slater, who is facing charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing, with many users of the social networking site expressing support for him for walking off the job. One such page had more than 5,000 fans early Tuesday.

Twitter users also showed support, with declarations such as “Steven Slater is totally my new hero” and “Steven Slater for SNL host!”

Slater was working on JetBlue Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh when he got into an argument with the passenger, who was pulling down baggage from an overhead bin, the Port Authority said.

The luggage apparently hit Slater in the head and he asked for an apology, but the passenger refused, the agency said.

As the plane was landing, Slater got on the public-address system and cursed at the passenger, the Port Authority said.

He then grabbed at least one beer, activated the slide, slid down and went to his car, it said. Port Authority police were notified about 25 minutes later.

If you are going to go out, then go out on top and Slater did…

Phil Catelinet, a passenger on the flight, said on the TODAY show that Slater ” was smiling — he was happy he had done this. He was happy he was done with his job at JetBlue.”

“I think it’s funny that he could quit his job that way … [but] I don’t think he thought this through.”

‘One day at a time’
A MySpace profile appearing to belong to Slater notes that: “Beating alcoholism and substance abuse ‘one day at a time’ has opened up new worlds of opportunity for me, and I am so thankful to those who have guided me along the path to successful living, and given me new wings to fly. See you above the clouds. …”

So much for sobriety…here is drinking to you Steven Slater!

F you stupid passenger!

Slater’s former roommate, John Rochelle, told The New York Times that Slater was rarely home, and often traveled to Thousand Oaks, Calif., to care for his ailing mother.

A neighbor of Slater’s mother told the newspaper that he had also cared for his father, who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“It could be the pressure of his mother’s illness, because that’s not the type of behavior or conduct that Steve exhibits,” neighbor Ron Franz said. “He’s a very conscientious, responsible individual.”

A woman who answered a phone at a previous residence listed for Slater in Thousand Oaks, Calif., identified herself as his mother but said she wasn’t speaking to the media.

The district attorney told NBC News that Slater had not yet been arraigned, but that was likely to happen at a Tuesday morning court session.

JetBlue Airways Corp. said in a statement that it was working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Port Authority police to investigate the matter.

It said the safety of its customers and crew members was never at risk. JetBlue would not say how long Slater had been employed by the company.

A National Transportation Safety Board official said the incident was a result of “a little too much cabin pressure.”

August 7, 2010

I’m back just in time for E’s song of the last several weeks (as Steve might call it). My girlfriend works as publicist and one of her clients is Heineken (awesome, I know). She hooked us up with free vip passes to the Grammy Block Party in Santa Monica benefiting relief for musicians displaced by the floods in Nashville. It was a great time with dope free food (some of which was provided by Stefan from Top Chef season 5) and some nice free booze (Heineken, of course, but also Ludacris’ new cognac, Conjure). The best part, however, was the dope live music, culminating with a great little set by former Tony Toni Tone member Raphael Saadiq. The back-up singers were also the fucking bomb!! It was extremely entertaining and my girl left the event a fully converted Saadiq fan. Now you lucky people get to share in the fun. I thought I’d give you a little taste of his live work (with what looks like the same back-up singers who rocked). Today’s jam: Raphael Saadiq – Dance Tonight, Ask of You and Love That Girl. Enjoy….

Earlier in the day, Snooki was partying on the beach with a beer bong … only she was filling it up with Coca-Cola. We’re told she was also seen at a local bar taking “body shots.”

wow...and what redeeming features are here?

Why is this chick making a bunch of money? More important, why should we care?

Ole girl got some money and then it went to her head (and her gut) The one thing that might have been attractive is lost. Her grill was not much to look at and the big frames make her look like an old grandmother.

Looks like MTV bought into a some fake gold, fugazi as the guidettes say…

July 17, 2010

I took a little break from the world of blogging due to laziness, but I’m back and ready to deliver on a hot jam to get you going on this fine Saturday night. I’m getting ready to go work the door at a bar in the Valley (live music, good drink specials etc.), so if you’re in the LA area you can come check me out at The Little Rock in Reseda (yes, the home of the Karate Kid). This track popped on in my whip the other day and it is kinda my jam, so now you will get the pleasure of hearing it too. Today’s jam: Al Wilson – Willoughby Brook. (Sorry about the not-so-great video. It was the only one I could find. Don’t look, just listen.)

July 17, 2010

You will fall in love and get married while reading this...keep the fifty bucks as a wedding present

…they should have seen them coming and ran…

Police Focus on Couple Who Raised Abducted Girl

Authorities focus on couple who raised abducted Calif girl for 7 years

By THOMAS WATKINS

The Associated Press

NORWALK, Calif.

The tears in Amber Nicklas’ eyes as she realized she would be taken from the only family she ever knew was enough to make Detective Jerry Saba’s stomach churn.

The girl, abducted at age 1 from her foster parents in California seven years ago, was found this week at a Phoenix home where she was being raised by a palm-reading couple.

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s detective was among a host of authorities who went to the little white clapboard house that doubled as a psychic business and told the man and woman raising Amber they were taking her into protective custody.

The blonde-haired girl began to cry but eventually calmed down as she was led away clutching her Barney doll.

“I felt horrible for her,” Saba told The Associated Press on Friday. “Here she is at age 7, being taken away from the only family she knew.”

Amber was brought back to Los Angeles on a sheriff’s plane while she played Rock Paper Scissors with the detectives and was even shown Disneyland as they flew over Anaheim.

She remained in protective custody Friday as authorities investigate what role, if any, the Phoenix couple had in her abduction.

The couple, who were originally from Romania, were using a different name for Amber. When police arrived at the home, the purported parents seemed resigned to losing her, Saba said.

“I think they had suspicions we would be coming,” he said. “They weren’t asking the types of questions I would expect from true parents, they weren’t offering up any resistance.”

The couple, whose names were not released, were detained then released after questioning. A second woman elsewhere in Phoenix was also questioned and released. Saba said he hoped charges will be filed, but was unclear of a timeframe, in part because of the complexity of a case spanning jurisdictions in two states.

The couple’s attorney, John Blischak, told The Arizona Republic they did not know Amber had been kidnapped. Blischak did not immediately return a call to the AP Friday afternoon.

Amber was abducted Sept. 21, 2003, by three juvenile aunts — one of them as young as 13 — who went with her and her foster parents to a Chuck E. Cheese in nearby Norwalk. Two of the aunts created some sort of distraction while the third got away with Amber.

The act must have been good and the timing must have been on point, but again, it’s Chuckie Cheese. There is a lot to do there.

Cut one line up for me, CHUCK!

Saba said investigators at the time worked hard to track the girl but the case went nowhere. There were a couple leads saying she was in Arizona but, despite searches by authorities there, she was never found.

Doesn’t this sound familiar? Remember the name Jaycee Lee Dugard? She was kidnapped and found years after the fact? The authorities had been to the home numerous times over the years and did nothing and never worked with the info they had that a pedophile had children at his house…

Two of the three aunts served time in juvenile detention for the abduction, but Saba would not comment on what investigators gleaned from interviews with them or if they remained part of the investigation.

Amber appeared to have been living in the Phoenix home since soon after she was abducted, Saba said. It was not clear how she ended up there, but authorities say the couple in the house knew one of the aunts. Saba did not elaborate on the relationship.

Gustavo Lom, who owns a sandwich and taco shop across the street from the couple’s house, said he remembered when Amber was a baby and often saw her and the couple outside together.

“I thought they were a normal family. They seemed to treat her as affectionately as any parent treats their kids,” Lom said. “I’d see him carrying her in his arms, kissing her on the cheek, sitting on the porch together.”

The couple were also raising a baby girl and had a grown son. Those children appeared to be their own, authorities said.

Authorities originally planned to put Amber into protective custody in Phoenix but worried her pretend parents would try to find her.

“She’s been abducted once, we were afraid if she remained out there, they would abduct her again,” Saba said.

Amber appeared to be well nourished and the house was clean and tidy, Saba said. The couple raising her had kept her out of school in an attempt to hide her and when police arrived, the purported mother tried to hide Amber in a bathroom shower under a pile of clothes and towels.

Authorities gave Amber enough time to change out of a pink skirt and into a pair of cotton pants before being returned to the care of Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Saba said. That agency declined to confirm it was looking after Amber or provide any details on her original abduction.